Name: Hestercombe House & Gardens
Rating: 5.0

Hestercombe House & Gardens

Hestercombe House & Gardens, Taunton, UK

1-90 Years

Paid

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Description

Hestercombe House & Gardens is a stunning historic estate near Taunton, featuring 50 acres of beautifully designed gardens spanning three centuries. Combining Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian styles, it offers a unique journey through landscape design and heritage. It’s an ideal destination for garden lovers, families and anyone seeking a peaceful and scenic day out.

Visitors can explore a wide variety of garden areas including the Georgian Landscape Garden, Victorian Shrubbery and Edwardian Formal Gardens. Highlights include the dramatic Great Cascade, the elegant Orangery, the Dutch Garden, tranquil ponds and unique features like the Daisy Steps, Gothic Alcove and historic water mill. The site is also rich in wildlife, with bats, deer and other native species, alongside facilities like a café, gift shop and plant centre.

Ticket prices start from £16.90 for adults and £8.45 for children, with family tickets available from £25.50 and free entry for children under 4.

With its blend of historic beauty, diverse gardens and peaceful surroundings, Hestercombe House & Gardens offers a memorable and relaxing experience. Whether you’re exploring the landscapes, spotting wildlife or enjoying a quiet walk, it’s a truly special place to visit.

Features

Paid
Host birthday parties: No

Features

Gardens

Experience 50 acres of quintessential Somerset gardens, near Taunton. Spanning three centuries of garden design, Hestercombe Gardens offer a unique combination and varied experience of the Georgian Landscape Garden, the Victorian Shrubbery and the Edwardian Formal Gardens.
Setting off along the gravel walk on the southern edge of Rook Wood you’ll discover a breathtaking view from the magnificent Daisy Steps which were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens to create a link between his Formal Garden and the earlier Landscape Garden.
The Victorian Shrubbery is a small enclosed garden incorporating a nineteenth-century yew tunnel with views to the Victorian water tower.
The Terrace Walk leads to the Chinese Seat and the Valley of Cascades glimpses through the trees to see the Pope’s Urn so named after the original design by William Kent for the poet Alexander Pope and erected in his garden at Twickenham.
The spectacular Great Cascade is the dramatic centrepiece of the Landscape Garden and its theatrical effect was inspired by Bampfylde’s visit to William Shenstone’s garden, The Leasowes, in 1762.
Opposite is another viewing point – the Rustic Seat allowing the visitor to stop and contemplate this sublime scene. Two ponds, the Box Pond and the Pear Pond make for tranquil places to sit and reflect on your journey around the gardens.
And further garden buildings, the Gothic Alcove, the Temple Arbour, the Witch House and Mausoleum all punctuate the walk towards the restored 17th century Water Mill with its Dynamo House and Mill Room.

Wildlife

In addition to the beautiful landscape and varied plant life, Hestercombe is also a little patch of paradise for native wildlife. Exploring the gardens it’s not unusual to catch a glimpse of a roe deer bound away at your approach.
You may also hear the rustle of leaves as common lizards busily go about their daily business of bug hunting. Hestercombe provides a fantastic place to live for a wide and varied assortment of our native animals.
We are also famed for our bats, of which we have many species. Our lesser horseshoe bats visit Hestercombe every summer as their maternity roost, in order to have their young.
We encourage the bats by planting a mixture of native shrubs and broadleaf tree species to create a shrub layer below the tree canopy that increases the amount of cover available to the bats.
By leaving deadwood on the ground we provide a habitat that will also support a high diversity of woodland insects and increase foraging opportunities. A new roost has been created to provide further nesting space for our resident lesser horseshoe, pipistrelle and brown long- eared bats.

Facilities

Food & Drinks: Enjoy delicious homemade food, served by The Stables Hospitality Ltd, in the historic stables and cart house at Hestercombe’s Visitor Centre.
Shopping: Come and visit our Gift Shop and Plant Centre by the Courtyard.

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Price

Price: Paid

Price Details

Adult: £16.90
Child (4 - 15 years): £8.45
Child (Under 4 years): Free
Family Saver 1 (1 adult & up to 3 children): £25.50
Family Saver 2 (2 adults & up to 3 children): £42.50
Wheelchair User: Half Price
Admission for Tramper user: Half Price

Pricing URL: https://www.hestercombe.com/your-visit/prices

Birthday Parties

Offer Birthday Parties: No

Gardens (summer opening hours): 10am – 6pm, daily (last entry 4:30pm)
Hestercombe House: Open daily 11am - 5pm

Address: Hestercombe House & Gardens, Taunton, UK

Post Code: TA2 8LG

Council: Somerset

County: Somerset

Directions from the M5, Junction 25

Depart M5 towards A358 Taunton/Honiton/Yeovil/Weymouth
Take A358 to Taunton (& Minehead) - follow the brown daisy signs
Follow to Taunton – see Sainsbury's and B&Q on your right
Continue on A358 (Toneway) for Taunton – See Creech Castle on your right
At roundabout see Wickes’ Superstore and take 3rd Exit onto A358 (Obridge Viaduct) – a flyover road
Take the first exit left at the little roundabout onto A358 (Priorswood Road)
Bear LEFT (South-West) on to A3038 and immediately RIGHT to go around the block to get onto Cheddon Road
Follow Cheddon Road – do not come off it – see landmarks such as the Co-Op and Costcutters, Taunton Academy and Wellsprings Sports Centre – all on your left at varying intervals
Bear left onto Lyngford Lane – go through Village of Cheddon Fitzpaine (Rowford) with the little Primary School on your left
Bear left up Pitchers Hill for 0.4 miles and see Hestercombe Gardens sign at the entrance – right hand side of the road.
Public Transport Information
The nearest railway station is Taunton.
Taxi ranks are sited at the railway station and in the town centre near to the bus and coach station.
Virgin, Great Western & Wales and West services serve Taunton and National Express coaches stop at Castle Green in the town centre.
Directions from the M5, Junction 25
Depart M5 towards A358 Taunton/Honiton/Yeovil/Weymouth
Take A358 to Taunton (& Minehead) - follow the brown daisy signs
Follow to Taunton – see Sainsbury's and B&Q on your right
Continue on A358 (Toneway) for Taunton – See Creech Castle on your right
At roundabout see Wickes’ Superstore and take 3rd Exit onto A358 (Obridge Viaduct) – a flyover road
Take the first exit left at the little roundabout onto A358 (Priorswood Road)
Bear LEFT (South-West) on to A3038 and immediately RIGHT to go around the block to get onto Cheddon Road
Follow Cheddon Road – do not come off it – see landmarks such as the Co-Op and Costcutters, Taunton Academy and Wellsprings Sports Centre – all on your left at varying intervals
Bear left onto Lyngford Lane – go through Village of Cheddon Fitzpaine (Rowford) with the little Primary School on your left
Bear left up Pitchers Hill for 0.4 miles and see Hestercombe Gardens sign at the entrance – right hand side of the road.

Public Transport Information

The nearest railway station is Taunton.
Taxi ranks are sited at the railway station and in the town centre near to the bus and coach station.
Virgin, Great Western & Wales and West services serve Taunton and National Express coaches stop at Castle Green in the town centre.